|
Economy - overview:
|
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and 5.2% in 2003. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
|
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $73.7 billion (2003 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
5.5% (2003 est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2003 est.)
|
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 19.9%
industry: 26.3%
services: 53.8% (2003)
|
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
22.7% of GDP (2003)
|
|
Population below poverty line:
|
22% (1997 est.)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
34.4 (1995)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
6.3% (2003 est.)
|
|
Labor force:
|
7.17 million (2003)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.)
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
8.4% (2003)
|
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $3.229 billion
expenditures: $4.526 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
|
|
Public debt:
|
105.1% of GDP (2003)
|
|
Industries:
|
rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco
|
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
5.8% (2003)
|
|
Electricity - production:
|
6.36 billion kWh (2001)
|
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 51.7%
hydro: 48.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
|
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
5.915 billion kWh (2001)
|
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2001)
|
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2001)
|
|
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption:
|
75,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports:
|
NA (2001)
|
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA (2001)
|
|
Agriculture - products:
|
rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef
|
|
Current account balance:
|
$-278 million (2003)
|
|
Exports:
|
$5.269 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities:
|
textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products
|
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 33.4%, UK 11.6%, Germany 4.4%, Belgium 4.1%, India 4.1% (2003 est.)
|
|
Imports:
|
$6.626 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
|
textiles, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment
|
|
Imports - partners:
|
India 13.3%, China 7.3%, Singapore 7.1%, Hong Kong 5.9%, Japan 5.5%, South Korea 4.9%, Taiwan 4.6%, UAE 4.5% (2003 est.)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
|
$2.273 billion (2003)
|
|
Debt - external:
|
$10.52 billion (2003)
|
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$577 million (1998)
|
|
Currency code:
|
LKR
|
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year
|
